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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019090">Lurking in the Shadows</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossBownes/pseuds/CrossBownes'>CrossBownes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>But I hope you like it anyway, Cryptids, Dumbass explorer, Written for a Class</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:01:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019090</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossBownes/pseuds/CrossBownes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A naïve cryptid hunter goes spelunking and finds a little more than he bargained for</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Lurking in the Shadows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Andrew Rivers shivered as the shaky beam of his flashlight met the flat grey stone of another dead end. He knew he should have stayed on track—spelunking is never something to be taken lightly, and all it had taken was one wrong turn for him to get lost in this cave system. Luckily, he had plenty of batteries for his light, but it was still a terrifying prospect to be lost deep below the Earth’s surface. Even worse...he was pretty sure he wasn’t alone. He was almost certain he had heard some kind of <i>growling</i> a few tunnels back, and other times he thought he saw a shadow flitting away just before his light landed on it. It could just be his eyes playing tricks on him from the stress, but...well, Andrew has always believed in the maxim of “better safe than sorry”.</p><p>He whirls as he hears a noise behind him, only to find it was a stone knocked loose from the wall. He sags with relief, raising the beam of his light again to look down the tunnel. The distant howl of wind down the maze like corridors was both a blessing and a curse: a promise of a way out, and another eerie noise adding to the growing fear in his belly that Andrew keeps trying to push down. He hears another suspicious clatter behind him and swallows nervously, deciding not to turn around as he continues onward, watching the shadows for a hidden tunnel or air vent or <i>anything</i> that might get him out of this god-forsaken cave.</p><p>Andrew had started his spelunking mission around noon. According to his watch, he had already been down here for a few hours, but he should still have plenty of daylight if he can find his way out of here. At least he won’t be picking his way home in the woods after dark. He rounds a corner, fishing a piece of chalk out of his pocket and drawing a mark on the wall. If he got turned around, at least he’d know if he was doubling back on himself. He rubs his eyes as he pushes onward—after so long squinting down identical tunnels of grey stone in dim light, his mind was starting to wander.</p><p>He had come to the Edwardsburg Jewel Tunnels chasing, ironically enough, a shadow. Andrew was a cryptid hunter (some had called him a fanatic), tracking down rumors of creatures like Bigfoot or the mothman all around the world. Recently, he had begun to hear rumors of a new, mysterious creature appearing in the Jewel Tunnels and the woods surrounding it. The sightings were so recent, in fact, that a definitive description of the creature had yet to be nailed down. Some had said it looked like a black lion, others a massive wolf that sparkled like a gemstone itself, and still others swore it had some kind of scorpion-like tail. The official story from the local police was the classic “bear sighting” explanation, but Andrew wasn’t buying it. He had been determined that he would be the first one to get more than a passing glimpse of the “Hound of Edwardsburg”, and maybe even obtain real proof.</p><p>He was starting to regret that dedication (more like stubbornness) now. He rounds another corner, checking the walls for chalk marks. Nothing, but always good to make sure. He thought the moan of the wind whistling through the caverns might be getting louder, and picked up the pace, glancing at his watch again: 4:13 PM. With any luck, he would be home in time for dinner. Andrew can feel a smile breaking out across his face as he hurries around a bend and-</p><p>Stops cold.</p><p>There, right in the middle of the stone wall, is a chalk mark. But not just a chalk mark—the distinct symbol that Andrew always drew had been smudged, distorted as if something had rubbed against the wall here. The spelunker gulps, feeling that fear starting to rise again. If something had messed with his marker...<i>there was something besides him down here</i>. Slowly, trying to keep his hand from trembling, he lowers the beam of his flashlight to the floor. There, between loose rocks and sandy dirt, were long, distinct scratches. Claw marks in sets of three scraped onto the stone floor of the tunnel.</p><p>“Oh, come on,” Andrew whines, taking an automatic step back. <i>Well</i>, the snarkier side of his mind quipped, <i>you wanted proof didn’t you?</i> Andrew scowls at the thought, painfully aware of the irony of his situation. Steadying his breathing, he reaches into his pocket, clasping the small chunk of quartz he carried with him. His cryptid expeditions had never run afoul while he had carried it, so he had considered it a good-luck charm. He might have to throw it away after this one, though. He tended to rub it when anxious, and over the years it had been worn down, the rough edges smoothed away until it glinted in the light of his flashlight. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Andrew mumbled to himself, taking another step away from the claw marks and disturbed symbol. “Maybe it’s just some...hibernating bear wandering by or something.”</p><p>As if the universe was deciding to play a cruel trick on him, at that very moment a raspy, feral, very distinctly <i>unbearlike</i> hiss echoed down the cave from directly behind him. Andrew whirled around with a yelp, his light landing directly upon the creature lurking in the shadows.</p><p>To their credit, from what Andrew could tell every witness had been at least partially right. The creature—no, the monster before him was large, generally canine in appearance and with a dark, inky black hide. It seems harmless enough...that is, until Andrew’s light lands on it and it flinches back, its sharp-toothed snout opening to emit that same rasping hiss as a mane of glittering spike-like quills puff up around its neck like some twisted hybrid of lion and porcupine. The quartz charm falls from Andrew’s frozen hands as he can only look on in horror as the Edwardsburg Hound rears up on its hind legs and ROARS, its jaw seeming to unhinge like a snake to expose still more fangs in its gaping maw.</p><p>Andrew screams and bolts. He’s not paying any attention to chalk or markings any more, only racing down tunnels at a full sprint, desperate to put as much distance between himself and that horror as possible. He hears the dull thump of footsteps and the scratching of claws behind him and picks up the pace, knowing that the monster must be hot on his heels. <i>Must go faster.</i></p><p>He turns left, bolts right, tumbles down a short slope and scrambles up a short wall, directions muddled in his panic. He loses his balance rounding a turn and slams into a wall, flashlight flickering at the blow. He smacks it desperately as he continues running. “Come on, come on, don’t give out on me now!” He pleads. The flashlight either doesn’t listen or is holding a grudge for the rough treatment, because it flickers out entirely, leaving Andrew in darkness.</p><p>The man slows to a halt. What else can he do when he can hardly see his hand in front of his face. He stumbles, reaching out until he finds a wall, pressing himself up against the cool stone as he begins to hyperventilate again. He hears a low growl rumble through the tunnel. Was it nearby? A distant echo? Was the monster mere feet away, or was it searching for its lost prey somewhere else? It hardly mattered anymore, Andrew told himself. He was helpless now, completely blind in the darkness. He reaches into his pocket for his charm, only to find nothing—he had dropped it back in the tunnels. He clenches his hand into a fist, trying not to cry from fear and exhaustion. He can see his hand trembling and clutches it to his chest, sucking in a deep breath-</p><p>Wait.<br/>He can see his hand trembling?</p><p>Andrew looks up. There! Almost imperceptible in the dark cave, there’s just the tiniest ray of light visible down the tunnel from him. Daylight! He scrambles to his feet, his exhausted legs cramping in protest, but he pushes through the pain, staggering towards it. He has a chance, if he can just make it out..! The light grows brighter as he approaches until he can make it out, a small shaft sloping upwards, with the dimmest rays of daylight shining down it. Without a glance back, Andrew crawls into the passageway. It’s little more than a hole in the ground, but he hardly cares. He squirms through the unyielding rock passage, inch by inch until at long last he drags himself free, collapsing to the forest floor, his chest heaving as he looks up at the sun beyond the trees. He’s free.</p><p>~~~</p><p>The Hound watches unblinkingly from the shadows as the intruder wriggles into the hole. It sits motionless, its puffed-up mane of spines smoothing down as one minute, then two goes by without the interloper reappearing. It feels something like satisfaction when, after five minutes, it turns tail and lopes off down the dark passageway from where it had come. It tracks the scent of the human through the tunnels until at last it arrives where the stranger had first spotted it. There, on the ground, is a sparkling little bit of quartz. The Hound flicks its tail forward, the three clawlike digits on the end of it snatching up the bauble. It bounds onwards, eventually finding one of the narrow hidden passages it had dug into the tunnels and slipping inside. A few moments of navigating tunnels later it emerges back into its lair: a cavern that sparkles with light like a chandelier (not that the Hound knew what a chandelier was). Sunlight shines down through a tiny shaft above, refracting off the pool of water directly under it into the rest of the room...a room that is almost entirely full of sparkling treasures. Gemstones, glass lenses, bits of aluminum, anything that shines has been collected here. The Hound treads carefully over its treasures, sniffing over a pile of coins until it finds the perfect spot. It deposits its newest quartz bauble atop a pile of marbles and lets out a light croak, pleased with itself. It acquired a new treasure and successfully scared off yet another invader—all in a day’s work. The creature curls up atop one of the mounds of its collection, watching the flecks of light dancing around its burrow. With any luck, that human would finally warn the others to stay away, and it could once again return to being nothing but a whispered rumor, lurking in the shadows.</p>
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